Groupe BANK OF AFRICA and Agence Française de Développement sign partnership agreement to support efforts to finance Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and professionals in Africa.

The dynamism of the private sector plays a key role in reducing poverty and supporting economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly by creating sustainable employment and increasing revenues.

AFD Group promotes and supports investment in SMEs in Africa and the countries where it operates via several customized tools it has designed for local financial systems.

GROUPE BANK OF AFRICA (BOA) enjoys nearly thirty years of unique experience in Africa thanks to its constant network expansion in East and West Africa, Madagascar and, more recently, Central Africa. Banks in BOA’s network are dynamic actors that help boost the economic growth of the countries where they are established. They also play a major role in financing the economy and the private sector by promoting access to credit for all economic actors, including professionals and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises.

Sharing the conviction that to support robust and sustainable growth it is necessary to improve financing conditions for businesses, Paul Derreumaux, Chairman of Groupe Bank of Africa, today signed an agreement with Jacques Moineville, Director of Operations at Agence Française de Développement.

Under this agreement, Agence Française de Développement will guarantee up to 50% of risks carried by banks in the BOA network in their activity of financing entrepreneurs via a financing package totaling roughly 28 million euros. The loans targeted are investment loans with unit amounts not exceeding 300 000 euros. The guarantee mechanism is simple and rapid.

Commenting on the signing of this agreement, Jacques Moineville declared: “AFD wishes to develop this type of partnership with sound banking groups working for sustainable development in African countries. AFD’s aim is to support the widespread implementation of a range of financial products tailored to the needs of small businesses. This partnership with BOA group and its network, which covers about a dozen Sub-Saharan African countries, marks a new stage in giving small and medium-sized enterprises more widespread access to financing from one of the biggest banking networks on the continent.”

In the words of Paul Derreumaux, “this agreement not only provides an effective and concrete response to the risks that banks in Sub-Saharan too often have to face in their SME financing activities, it is also and especially a directly operational tool that in the short and medium term will make it easier to finance SMEs. It will consequently be contributing to economic growth and job creation. BOA has been militating in favour of this type of guarantee for a long time, so we are particularly happy about signing this agreement. This agreement will also help strengthen and diversify the long-standing relationship we share with AFD Group”.

Groupe BANK OF AFRICA
GROUPE BANK OF AFRICA is led by multicultural teams made up of some 3 000 staffers. It today comprises 22 financial companies, including 12 commercial banks, a housing bank, 3 leasing companies, 1 brokerage firm, 2 investment companies, 1 asset management company and 1 financial company. It operates on 230 sites spread out over 13 countries. Groupe BOA is supported by powerful institutional partners (Proparco, IFC, BOAD, FMO, BIO...) and a strategic banking partner, BMCE Bank.

At 31 December 2009, Groupe BANK OF AFRICA had a consolidated balance sheet of roughly 2.5 billion euros, 262.3 million euros of equity capital, 1.9 billion euros of client deposits and 1.4 billion euros of treasury credits. Its Net Banking Income (NBI) stood at 172.3 million euros and its net profit 34.7 million euros.

Agence Française de Développement
Agence Française de Développement (AFD) is a public development-finance institution that has been working to fight poverty and support economic growth in developing countries and France’s Overseas Communities for nearly seventy years. AFD executes the French Government’s development aid policies.

It is active in over 50 countries and 9 French Overseas Communities where it finances and supports projects that improve living conditions for populations, promote economic growth and protect the planet. AFD-funded projects provide schooling for children, support farmers and small businesses, supply drinking water, preserve tropical forests, fight climate change…

AFD committed over €6.2 billion to financing aid activities in developing countries and the French Overseas Communities in 2009. The funds should permit the vaccination of 1.8 million children, give 7.3 million people access to drinking water and create or save jobs for 900,000 workers engaged in private enterprise. Funding for energy efficiency projects will save nearly 5 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
www.afd.fr